Medalist Darts Is Back
Liberty Dartboard System Ready for Operators & Players
Network Sports LLC’s CEO Pat Rhodes, along with former dart champion Dave Whitney, purchased the old Medalist Darts brand about six years ago and have been busy bringing the new Medalist Liberty soft-tipped dartboard to market.
As a financial advisor to the former CEO of Medalist, Rhodes learned about the business and the potential that it held, while Whitney was a former dartboard operator with decades of experience in coin-op.
The biggest difference about Medalist Darts now is it’s “sourced, based, supported, managed and owned in the United States.” (The business is headquartered in Federal Way, Washington.) The company’s marketing exec Bob Zollo said the software and electronics that went into the old dartboards used to be assembled in Asia. Software support came from a company in Asia, too. They’re changing that this go-around.
In addition to reviving those older machines, they developed a new dartboard – the Medalist Liberty electronic dartboard, which will be available this month.
“It’s not just the software and firmware in the board,” Zollo explained of the technology. “These are all cloud-based systems.”
That allows for web-based, integrated league play management and a portal that reports daily revenue activity for machine operators.
The American-built board itself lets players enjoy traditional 01, Cricket and other fun games, with casual play and league play modes of operation. The company said the cloud-based software also offers “an easy way for dart enthusiasts to create an account that provides automatic updates to their handicap and facilitates sign up for local tournaments, Medalist-sponsored league play and regional tournaments.”
In these events, players compete face to face in their local bars or venues and attend regional tournaments within driving distance of home. Medalist league play ambassadors “coordinate with bar owners and operators to run successful league play to pack the bars on league nights,” they said.
Designed to “last a generation,” the machines are “built like a Sherman tank,” Zollo touted.
The company says Liberty supports coin, bill, Apple Pay and seamless credit card payments, features classic arcade-style buttons or touch panel control options, and has a scratch-resistant clear overcoat on its rugged, composite cabinet. The cabinet itself breaks down into two units for easy handling and key electronics components are easily replaceable, Medalist adds. Additionally, there are options for custom graphics and local advertising displayed on the touchscreen version when a game is not being played.
Operators at Amusement Expo, where they debuted the new Liberty board, were excited and so are the ones making money from league play in the Northwest, the company boasts.
“The largest bar location we have … the owner of that told me that for every $1 that went into the dart machine, he sold $9 worth of beer,” Rhodes noted. “It’s a big deal for the bars.” Zollo added: “Especially if you’re having league play on slow weeknights. It’s a real money generator for the bars. League play can last 10-12 weeks and people are playing a couple times a week in these bars. That’s a lot of cash flowing into these bars – and people have a good time.”
With thousands of machines with the old Asian software still out there, Network Sports says they are working to get out the word that the new software is going to operate more efficiently and make more money for operators, and is back up with technical support staff in the U.S.
To get the upgrade or learn more about the new Liberty dartboard and company, visit www.medalistdarts.com.